Late last week, a bill that would enable state-funded private adoption agencies in Virginia to refuse placements on the basis of their religious or moral beliefs, including banning placements with same-sex couples passed the state House of Delegates by a vote of 71 to 28. The Virginia Senate Rehabilitation and Social Services Committee also endorse the bill, and it is likely to appear on the state Senate floor for a vote this week. Republican Governor Bob McDonnell indicated that he would sign the bill, if it is passed by the Republican-controlled Senate.
Leslie Cooper, an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), stated, “It’s a license for child welfare agencies to make bad decisions based on their own religious beliefs rather than the child’s needs.”
Senator Mark Herring (D-Loudoun) criticized the bill on the grounds that the private agencies contract with the state government and thus as recipients of state funding, should not be permitted to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
Senator Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) added, “I will listen to the arguments and try to understand what the rationale behind it is…but I’m not include to support discrimination or use of tax dollars to support discrimination.” If the bill becomes law, Virginia would be the second state, following North Dakota, to allow private agencies to refuse placements on the basis sexual orientation.
Washington Post 2/7/12; Associated Press 2/4/12
1 comment
Amy says:
Apr 18, 2012
If the state of Virginia is acknowledging that same sex couples exist and is allowing their existence, then their discrimination against letting them adopt doesn’t make sense. It’s as if they are only prolonging the full rights of gay couples. The state should not have the right to grant acceptance of gay couples without allowing them to truly live as a couple. People need to understand that gay couples may also wish to get married and to even raise a family. For gay couples, raising a family requires adoption as an option and they should be allowed to do so because not many heterosexual couples are willing to adopt.